From comeback to cleanup, the Bruins are already breaking records just seven games into their season.

UCLA women’s volleyball (6-1) started its journey in the Aloha State, defeating Pepperdine (1-6) on Thursday 3-2 before handing Liberty (7-1) its first loss of the season Friday in sweeping fashion at the Outrigger Volleyball Challenge. Between the first two games of the tournament, multiple Bruins achieved career-high figures.

Pepperdine may have led defensively in Thursday’s matchup, surpassing UCLA in blocks and digs, but the Bruins’ offensive showing preserved their now-six game winning streak in the five-set contest.

A first-set Bruin win was immediately offset by a pair of Wave victories in the second and third frames. By the fourth set, contributions off the bench as well as a record-breaking performance from junior defensive specialist/libero Peyton Dueck brought the ball back into the Bruins’ court – where it would stay until the end of the match.

Dueck achieved career-high digs and assists Thursday, recording her first double-double of the season as aided by plays with sophomore outside/opposite hitter Grayce Olson – who said even when facing backwards, Dueck had her back.

Dueck’s assists while facing away from the net beyond the service line allowed Olson to strike a kill – twice.

“We already have a pretty strong connection – it’s even stronger on the court. I trust her,” Olson said. “She gets every single ball up that I can’t imagine possible, so I’m just super proud of her.”

Olson added that the team’s attitude and resilience were to credit for the momentum change in the final two sets.

“We really just pulled it together, and we all came out with a lot of energy and fire and played with a lot of joy,” Olson said. “Which, I feel like the first couple sets it looked like we were kind of chasing our tails, and then the last two sets we were more dominant for sure.”

And when it came down to the final stretch, senior setter Audrey Pak remained steady at the service line and notched nine straight service points to bring home the win.

“I was just focused on one point at a time and just hitting the zone that Amir (assistant coach Amir Lugo-Rodriguez) gave me,” Pak said. “I just trusted that he had a good reason to hit the passer that we were trying to serve.”

UCLA’s winning volleyball continued on Friday to hand Liberty its first loss of the season. Fighting to win a neck-and-neck first-set race, UCLA came out on top after six set point opportunities with a score of 28-26. Senior outside/opposite hitter Iman Ndiaye capped it off with an ace, and led the Bruins in kills, attacks and points by the end of the first frame.

Pak said the team’s early commitment to its spirit was the reason for its strong start towards victory.

“Before each game, we choose a word or two to focus on, and something we chose today was just ‘grit,’” Pak said. “We’ve been trying to be really relentless every single point and find our identity and be authentic with our personalities while doing that.”

The Flames trailed the Bruins by one in attacks and digs going into the second set. This time, it was sophomore outside hitter Cheridyn Leverette at the service line guiding the Bruins to a set win following her career-high 17 kills against Pepperdine a day earlier.

Liberty’s setter Delaney Dilfer ultimately won the assist battle over Pak, as the Flames cumulatively outnumbered the Bruins in the category. But it was Olson who pulled ahead for the lead in hitting, recording a career-high .684 hitting percentage.

While players say their performance is due to the new coaching staff, coach Alfee Reft said the team members are pushing themselves toward the statistics they post.

“It’s certainly rewarding to see the work they’ve put in through the offseason, and there’s just so many players on this team that can contribute on any given night,” Reft said. “I think that’s credit to the work they put in as well as their teammates who are pushing and helping them get better.”

With one win to go for a tournament sweep, UCLA will face Hawai’i on Sunday at 8 p.m.